In 1961, New York Yankees slugger Roger Maris was
on track to break Babe Ruth's seemingly untouchable
record of 60 home runs in a single season, set in
1927. At the end of July, Baseball Commissioner
Ford Frick decreed that if Maris broke Ruth's longstanding
record in 162 games (as opposed to Ruth's 154 games),
an asterisk would be placed next to Maris' name
in the record books. Frick’s edict caused
a lot of controversy and remains a point of contention
among baseball historians to this day.

This letter,
written by Frick thirteen days before Maris broke
Ruth's record, is the only known document to address
the asterisk.